Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Book review: The Siren by Kiera Cass

Kahlen has a deadly secret – she is a siren, and if she
speaks even one word it could doom anyone who hears it. The only people she can
be herself around are her siren sisters, Aisling, Miaka and Elizabeth, and Her –
the Ocean which looks after them in return for their services. Kahlen is
feeling unsettled with her life, masquerading as a student among humans, when
she meets Akinli, a boy who handily understands sign language. Think of it as a
teenager’s version of The Little Mermaid.

Sadly this is where the book starts to go downhill. Cass’s
penchant for odd names made it difficult to really get into the story to start
with, and the relationship between Kahlen and Akinli is too instant to be
believable.

There are some redeeming features - the best character in the book
was Her, and her relationship with the sirens as part mother, part warden and
part employer was fascinating. It was also an easy read which would be good for
a beach holiday.

I did enjoy it as a novel idea and something a bit different. It isn’t a terrible book, but it had potential to be so much
better.